Chapter Summaries

After jumping from a building into a strange world, Mu Yi explored a forest filled with dangerous, unusual creatures. He captured a glowing mushroom near a cliff just as a group of people arrived and prepared for combat.

• Mu Yi burned the blood vines that ambushed and suspended him in a tree, then returned to his van and reflected on how he had landed in the river after jumping from a high-rise.
• Mu Yi chased a multicolored glowing mushroom through the forest after hearing its cries.
• Mu Yi caught the mushroom and held it upside down over a cliff, covering its mouth when it screamed.
• A group searching for the Hallucinogenic Mushroom approached, took antidotes, and prepared for combat after noticing something ahead.

Mu Yi tried to keep the Prismatic Mushroom after Zhong Xuezhi confronted him, then jumped from a cliff to escape. Zhong Xuezhi rescued him, but Mu Yi collapsed after realizing the mushroom was poisonous, leaving the team unsure whether he was faking.

• Mu Yi dodged Zhong Xuezhi's magically controlled Ice Scythe and learned that Zhong considered the Prismatic Mushroom his prey.
• Mu Yi refused to give up the mushroom, and Zhong summoned his armed teammates to confront him.
• Rather than fight, Mu Yi jumped off the cliff, but Zhong grew wings and caught him before he fell far.
• Mu Yi unleashed defensive electricity, prompting Zhong's teammates to identify him as an Advanced Variant.
• As Mu Yi's pheromones and electricity faltered, he realized the Prismatic Mushroom was poisonous and passed out.
• One of Zhong's teammates suggested that Mu Yi was pretending to be unconscious to scam their captain.

Zhong Xuezhi’s team captured a Hallucinogenic Mushroom and carried the unconscious Mu Yi back to their rest site. Mu Yi woke up tied to a tree as the team discussed hunting plant Variants to replenish their energy.

• An Beize and Wenren Jin reported that Mu Yi was neither a Variant nor a Mutant, and Zhong Xuezhi marveled at his resistance to the Hallucinogenic Mushroom’s spores.
• Zhong Xuezhi caught the Hallucinogenic Mushroom in a soundproof box and labeled it experimental specimen number 669.
• The team returned to their rest site, with Zhong Xuezhi carrying Mu Yi on his back.
• Mu Yi woke in daylight, bound to a tree, and overheard the team complain about their depleted energy and plan to hunt low-level plant Variants.
• Zhong Xuezhi noticed Mu Yi was awake and greeted him.

Zhong Xuezhi tried to persuade the bound Mu Yi to provide DNA for research on an improved hallucinogen antidote, but Mu Yi refused. While Mu Yi stayed with the team to learn about this unfamiliar world, Zhong Xuezhi returned with Carnivorous Moth Larvae, which Mu Yi volunteered to eat.

• Zhong Xuezhi asked Mu Yi to cooperate with research sampling and offered to meet his conditions, but Mu Yi angrily refused.
• Mu Yi decided not to escape yet because Zhong Xuezhi’s team could provide information about the unfamiliar world.
• Mu Yi watched Qiu Cai, Wenren Jin, An Beize, and Du Jing relax in the forest and noted how eccentric they were.
• Zhong Xuezhi returned with a bag of Carnivorous Moth Larvae, and his four teammates recoiled when he revealed them.
• Mu Yi offered to eat the larvae, having gone without food or water since the previous night.

While Zhong Xuezhi’s team restrained Mu Yi, Zhong fed him roasted larvae and tried to learn about his origins, but Mu Yi revealed little. When the team set out to hunt Spine Celery mutants, Mu Yi demanded to go with them and insisted Zhong carry him, leaving him furious in Zhong’s arms.

• Zhong Xuezhi fed Mu Yi roasted larvae and introduced his teammates, but Mu Yi rejected his attempts to buddy up and gave no useful information about himself.
• Zhong Xuezhi’s team reviewed what they knew about Spine Celery mutants and prepared to hunt them in the western forest.
• Mu Yi asked to accompany the team, and Zhong Xuezhi agreed after Qiu Cai questioned how they could take him while he was restrained.
• Mu Yi demanded that Zhong carry him, and Zhong scooped him up in his arms despite Mu Yi’s protests.

Mu Yi watched Zhong Xuezhi’s team battle a colony of spine celery while he remained bound and unable to join in. After Wenren Jin was struck by emotion-altering pollen and the team’s supplies ran low, Zhong Xuezhi ordered everyone to use their ultimates, leaving Mu Yi still restrained as the fight escalated.

• Mu Yi watched the team attack the spine celery colony, harvest crystals from the monsters, and burn the weaker creatures with Qiu Cai’s transformed flamethrower.
• Mu Yi tried to burn through his restraints with his electric flame, failed, and shouted for Zhong Xuezhi to untie him.
• Wenren Jin blocked the colony’s petal volley, copied the attack with his innate skill, and sent the arrows back at the spine celery.
• Zhong Xuezhi warned the team to avoid the B-rank spine celery’s red pollen, but Wenren Jin was exposed and began laughing and crying uncontrollably.
• An Beize used rain to clear the pollen, and the team took cover from another petal volley as Zhong Xuezhi ordered everyone to use their ultimates.

Du Jing and Zhong Xuezhi destroyed the Spine Celery, but a swarm of Giant Ants caught the team as they tried to retreat. Mu Yi joined the fight and displayed both electric current and electric flame, leaving Zhong Xuezhi wondering who he was.

• Du Jing unleashed his Devil Vine and plants against the Spine Celery, while Zhong Xuezhi froze and shattered the remaining creatures.
• Zhong Xuezhi warned that looters were approaching, and the team gathered the crystal fragments and tried to retreat.
• A swarm of Giant Ants caught up with the team, and Zhong Xuezhi offered to cover the retreat before Mu Yi forced him to release the ice bands.
• Mu Yi charged into the Giant Ant swarm, but his electric flames failed against their insulating shells.
• Zhong Xuezhi killed several Giant Ants with his scythe and realized Mu Yi appeared to possess two nature-type talents.

Mu Yi fought the Giant Ants with his electric pheromones and discovered that their acid venom caused severe, prolonged pain. After Zhong Xuezhi wrapped his injured arm in an ice ribbon, Mu Yi returned to battle and devastated the swarm.

• Mu Yi killed a Giant Ant with electric flame and found a blue crystal in its ashes.
• A Giant Ant sprayed formic acid on Mu Yi’s arm, and Zhong Xuezhi cooled the injury and warned him the pain would last twenty-four hours.
• Furious, Mu Yi unleashed his full power and turned most of the Giant Ants into ash, leaving their crystals behind.
• Zhong Xuezhi warned Mu Yi about overusing his energy, then tied an ice ribbon around his injured arm in a large, tight bow.
• Mu Yi failed to undo the bow and rejoined the fight, disheveled and with his shirt partly open.

Mu Yi tried to chase a fleeing Giant Ant, but Zhong Xuezhi stopped him and accidentally revealed his Snow Leopard mutated form. Mu Yi became fascinated with Zhong Xuezhi’s ears and tail, then followed him as he collected formic acid from the remaining Giant Ants.

• Mu Yi pursued the last fleeing Giant Ant, but Zhong Xuezhi restrained him and warned that it was leading them toward its nest.
• Mu Yi struggled against Zhong Xuezhi and pulled at his hair until Zhong Xuezhi’s mutation level rose and his Snow Leopard ears and tail emerged.
• Mu Yi praised Zhong Xuezhi’s mutated form and asked about Snow Leopards, learning that the species was probably extinct and that Zhong Xuezhi had received the only infection source.
• Mu Yi said he would keep Zhong Xuezhi if he ever became a Variant, and Zhong Xuezhi dismissed the idea and returned to their operation.
• Zhong Xuezhi extracted formic acid from the Giant Ant corpses while Mu Yi followed, watching his tail and ears.

Mu Yi learned Zhong Xuezhi’s name and discussed his unfamiliarity with the outside world while they gathered Spine Celery rhizomes. After An Beize identified the plant, Zhong Xuezhi offered Mu Yi a ride back in his flying snow leopard form.

• Zhong Xuezhi asked Mu Yi his name and age, then learned Mu Yi had never left his Safe Base or encountered the world outside it.
• An Beize called Zhong Xuezhi and identified Spine Celery as a mutated plant whose pollen caused mental excitement and whose rhizomes acted as a sedative.
• Zhong Xuezhi dug up more Spine Celery rhizomes while Mu Yi asked to touch his tail, but Zhong Xuezhi refused.
• Zhong Xuezhi offered to fly Mu Yi back, and Mu Yi eagerly agreed after asking about his wings, tail, and clothing.

Zhong Xuezhi flew Mu Yi back to the Resting Place, where he gave An Beize shard crystals and went to bathe. While waiting, Mu Yi studied the crystals, deduced how their electrical properties related to the energy Mutants absorbed, and was interrupted by the returning pain in his arm.

• Zhong Xuezhi took Mu Yi to the Creek Bank to collect snacks, then flew him back to the Resting Place.
• An Beize told Zhong Xuezhi that Wenren Jin was still asleep, and Zhong Xuezhi gave him Storage Bags of Spine Celery roots and stems to examine.
• Zhong Xuezhi left to bathe in a nearby Natural Hot Spring Pool, while Mu Yi stayed behind to avoid spying on him.
• Mu Yi studied shard crystals and concluded that higher-grade crystals stored more concentrated energy for Mutants to absorb.
• Mu Yi felt the pain in his right arm returning as the Ice Band's cold faded and wondered how long Zhong Xuezhi's bath would take.

Mu Yi went to the hot spring to have Zhong Xuezhi recharge the ice band on his injured arm, then joined him in the water. Their teasing turned into a conversation about flowers and renewal, which left Mu Yi unimpressed by Zhong Xuezhi’s reflections on life.

• Mu Yi went to the bathing pool after the others refused to hurry Zhong Xuezhi, and Zhong Xuezhi recharged the ice band on his aching arm.
• Zhong Xuezhi invited Mu Yi into the hot spring, and Mu Yi climbed in fully dressed after joking that the invitation was seduction.
• Zhong Xuezhi wondered whether Mu Yi was attracted to men, but Mu Yi threatened to electrify the pool and put the suspicion to rest.
• Mu Yi asked whether Zhong Xuezhi liked flowers, and Zhong Xuezhi explained how February Violet would wilt as March Jasmine flourished from its remains.
• Mu Yi listened to Zhong Xuezhi’s thoughts about flowers’ cycles of renewal, then dismissed the conversation as tiring.

Mu Yi and Zhong Xuezhi returned from the hot spring and bickered as Mu Yi tried to dry Zhong Xuezhi’s fur and clothes. Mu Yi discovered that the date was in the Crystal Era, then accidentally burned a hole in Zhong Xuezhi’s uniform and offered to sew it.

• Mu Yi turned away when Zhong Xuezhi undressed, and they argued about his modesty before returning to the Resting Place.
• Zhong Xuezhi roasted bamboo shoots by the fire and teased Mu Yi about someone he claimed to dislike.
• Mu Yi eagerly offered to dry Zhong Xuezhi’s ears and tail, but Zhong Xuezhi handed him his wet clothes instead.
• An Beize told Zhong Xuezhi that 403 and the others wanted to meet up, but Zhong Xuezhi said he planned to return home to see his flowers.
• Mu Yi checked the date on Zhong Xuezhi’s Identity Bracelet and saw that it was March 3, Crystal Era 4020, 108 years after a nuclear catastrophe.
• Mu Yi accidentally burned a hole in Zhong Xuezhi’s uniform and confidently offered to sew and embroider it.

Mu Yi mended Zhong Xuezhi’s burned cuff with a chibi snow leopard and learned about Fatty Bamboo Shoots, Suppressant pills, and shard crystals. As Zhong Xuezhi urged him to adapt to recharging with shard crystals, Mu Yi grew more certain that the Betas did not recognize him as an Alpha.

• Mu Yi used colorful spider silk and an ice needle to mend Zhong Xuezhi’s cuff, stitching a tiny snow leopard head onto it as payback for the bow on his arm.
• Mu Yi ate three Fatty Bamboo Shoots before Zhong Xuezhi explained that they held thirteen times the energy of rice and expanded in the stomach.
• Qiu Cai, An Beize, and Du Jing remarked that Zhong Xuezhi seemed unusually relaxed around Mu Yi, and Zhong Xuezhi caught them whispering.
• Mu Yi learned that Zhong Xuezhi had animal-type and nature-type talents and took Suppressant pills when his mutation level was abnormal.
• Zhong Xuezhi advised Mu Yi to recharge with shard crystals while traveling, but Mu Yi delayed and suspected the others did not see him as an Alpha.

As spring rain forced the group to share tents, Zhong Xuezhi tried to persuade Mu Yi to return to Crystal City and help research a better Hallucinogen Antidote. Mu Yi demanded a rare snow leopard as payment, then declared that Zhong Xuezhi could serve as its substitute pet.

• The group reached a rest stop as spring thunder and rain began, and Mu Yi shared Zhong Xuezhi's tent.
• Zhong Xuezhi tried to convince Mu Yi to return to Crystal City, contact his Safe Base, and cooperate with antidote research.
• Mu Yi said he had no family and refused Zhong Xuezhi's offers to help him enter Crystal City.
• Mu Yi asked Zhong Xuezhi to find him a rare snow leopard Variant, rejecting a Black-Spotted Lynx as a substitute.
• When Zhong Xuezhi kept bargaining, Mu Yi said Zhong Xuezhi could be his snow leopard pet and ordered him to come when called and let himself be petted.

Zhong Xuezhi reluctantly agreed to let Mu Yi pet his tail and ears in exchange for cooperating with the institute’s DNA replication research. After falling asleep together, Zhong Xuezhi was woken to provide Mu Yi with cold air when his strap ran out.

• Mu Yi negotiated five days of access to Zhong Xuezhi’s tail and ears in exchange for Zhong Xuezhi cooperating with the institute until it replicated the DNA.
• Mu Yi stroked Zhong Xuezhi’s tail and ears, but Zhong Xuezhi stopped him from touching the tail’s base, petting his head, and reaching for his neck ring.
• Mu Yi threatened to shout, so Zhong Xuezhi gave him his tail to pet and quieted him.
• Mu Yi fell asleep holding Zhong Xuezhi’s tail, and Zhong Xuezhi eventually fell asleep beside him.
• Mu Yi woke Zhong Xuezhi because his strap had run out of cold air, and Zhong Xuezhi groggily supplied more.

Zhong Xuezhi and Mu Yi’s squad fought off a night raid by Grade A warthogs, whose Quake roar weakened mental strength and stirred anger. After Zhong Xuezhi killed one and admitted the roar had affected him slightly, he took a mouthful of suppressant pills.

• Zhong Xuezhi woke the squad and warned them that a herd of Grade A warthogs was charging toward their campsite.
• Zhong Xuezhi gave Mu Yi night-vision goggles and warned the group about the warthogs’ strength and infectious vomit.
• Mu Yi trapped a warthog in an electric net and raised his electric flame to level eight, but Zhong Xuezhi killed it before Mu Yi could finish the fight.
• Zhong Xuezhi explained that the warthog’s Quake roar lowered mental strength and caused irritability, and Mu Yi realized it had affected him.
• Zhong Xuezhi admitted the roar had affected him a little, then poured a whole mouthful of suppressant pills into his mouth.

Mu Yi and Zhong Xuezhi's team killed the remaining warthogs and fled through Dread Gloom Forest after Zhong Xuezhi sensed something approaching. In a cave behind a waterfall, Zhong Xuezhi began acting strangely and trapped Mu Yi in a crushing embrace.

• Mu Yi helped the exhausted team fight the warthogs and killed one by stabbing its throat with a broken branch and burning it with electric flame.
• The wounded warthog suddenly went berserk and tried to reach Mu Yi before he killed it.
• Zhong Xuezhi beheaded the final warthog, sensed something approaching from the north, and ordered everyone to retreat.
• An Beize led the team to caves behind a waterfall, where they hid after fleeing through the forest.
• Zhong Xuezhi carried Mu Yi into a cave and held him tightly, breathing hotly with glowing blue eyes and slit pupils.
• Mu Yi confronted Zhong Xuezhi and asked what was wrong with him.

Mu Yi discovered that Zhong Xuezhi’s mutation had reached a critical 91% and watched his mental value fall as his attack desire climbed. Zhong Xuezhi bit and drank Mu Yi’s blood, briefly calmed down, then passed out against him.

• Mu Yi unlocked Zhong Xuezhi’s Identity Bracelet and found his mutation value had risen to 91%, with his mental value dropping and attack desire increasing.
• Mu Yi searched the bracelet for a way to contact An Beize as Zhong Xuezhi grew increasingly agitated and pinned him against the cavern wall.
• Zhong Xuezhi bit Mu Yi’s shoulder and drank his blood, then became calmer and watched Mu Yi’s bloodied fingers.
• Mu Yi saw Zhong Xuezhi’s fangs and let him delicately suck a few drops of blood from his fingers.
• Zhong Xuezhi suddenly slumped against Mu Yi and did not respond when Mu Yi called his name.

Mu Yi checked that Zhong Xuezhi had recovered after blacking out, then stayed beside him through the night. In the morning, Zhong Xuezhi found his mutation value had fallen below 30% but remembered nothing, while Mu Yi urged him to think carefully about what he had done.

• Mu Yi confirmed Zhong Xuezhi was unconscious and that his readings were improving, then settled down to sleep while holding Zhong Xuezhi's tail.
• Zhong Xuezhi woke late, discovered his mutation value had dropped below 30%, and gently moved Mu Yi aside before washing off the pig's blood.
• Mu Yi woke while Zhong Xuezhi was naked, looked away, and threw electric sparks at him when he teased her.
• Mu Yi asked where Zhong Xuezhi's tail had gone, and Zhong Xuezhi explained that he could retract his mutated form once his mutation value was below the safety threshold.
• Zhong Xuezhi noticed the bite marks on Mu Yi's shoulder but denied remembering who had bitten him, so Mu Yi told him to think carefully about the previous night.